Vegetables

ARTICLES ABOUT VEGETABLES BY DATE - PAGE 3

NEW DELHI: Concerned over the rise of prices of vegetables due to heavy unseasonal rain, Delhi government today directed the heads of the three major markets -- Azadpur, Shahdara and Keshopur -- to take steps to keep the rates under control. Development Minister Gopal Rai and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Asim Ahmed Khan today convened a meeting in which a review of the prices of green vegetables, tomatoes, onions and potatoes was held. Rai directed the officials of the departments concerned to immediately take emergency measures to check rising prices.

The current spell of heavy rains in several parts of the country this month is expected to hit fruit output and standing wheat crop. According to data placed before Parliament, standing wheat crops in over 50 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have been damaged by the recent unseasonal rains. Here's a look...

NEW DELHI: Vegetable prices have shot up in the wholesale markets of north India in recent days, and are expected to remain firm for some time as unseasonal showers that disrupted supplies are forecast to continue in the weeks ahead. Prices of spinach, fenugreek (methi) and mustard have more than doubled, while cauliflower, capsicum , brinjal , lady finger and bitter gourd are up 25% in the last few days. "Prices will remain firm for over a week as supplies have fallen by over 50%,"said Sardar Balbir Singh a trader at the Azadpur mandi of New Delhi.

NEW DELHI: Retail prices of leafy vegetables like spinach and other winter staples like carrot, cauliflower and peas have shot up as much as 67 per cent in the national capital over the last five days due to unseasonal rains. Retail prices of vegetables are expected to be under pressure for the next two days due to tight supplies as the wholesale markets will remain closed for Holi tomorrow, traders said. However, there is no supply constraint for potato and onion, and their prices are stable, a senior Union Agriculture Ministry official said.

NEW DELHI: The European Union (EU) has lifted the ban on import of Indian mangoes that it had imposed in April last year, Parliament was informed today. "The EU has notified lifting of the ban on mango through commission implementing number... of February 12, 2015," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. In April last year, the 28-member European Union had temporarily banned import of Alphonso mangoes. It also banned import of four vegetables, taro, bitter gourd, snake gourd and eggplant, from India from May 1, 2014.

BENGALURU: Hopcoms is entering an unlikely space where the high and mighty of the VC-funded e-commerce world tread. The state co-operative that sells fruit and vegetables through nearly 300 outlets in Bengaluru is launching its e-commerce portal within the next two months. "Farmers will be benefitted from this venture, and there will be more employment opportunities as we are hiring more personnel for this effort," said Kadire Gowda, Managing Director, Hopcoms. The software is being finalized by Keonics and will be functional in two months, thanks to an initial investment of Rs 1 crore.

NEW DELHI: The government has given exemption from service tax to certain pre-cold storage services for fruits and vegetables, a move aimed at promoting food processing sector and checking price rise of perishable items. "The tax exemption is being extended to certain pre-cold storage services in relation to fruits and vegetables so as to incentivise value addition in this crucial sector," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Budget. The Budget document elaborated that exemption would be on services by way of pre-conditioning, pre-cooling, ripening, waxing, retail packing and labelling of fruits and vegetables.

BENGALURU: Infosys cofounder Kris Gopalakrishnan is coinvesting in FreshWorld, a Bengaluru startup which delivers fruits and vegetables straight from farms to homes, as he looks to deepen his profile as an angel investor. Gopalakrishnan whose net worth is over Rs 9,301 crore has invested an undisclosed amount of funding in the fourteen month old firm along with angel investor Nagaraja Prakasam who led the deal for Indian Angel Network . FreshWorld sells fruits and vegetables like a street vendor using electric carts.

NEW DELHI: A high level of pesticides was found in 509 samples out of 16,790 comprising veggies, fruits, spices, rice, wheat and other food items in 2013-14, said a latest government report. Most of the vegetables showed relatively higher pesticide residue detection in rainy season followed by summer and winter seasons, it said. However the samples of meat, milk and surface water did not have pesticides above maximum residue level, it added. The study was conducted as part of the central scheme 'Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level' operational since 2005.

NEW DELHI: The government today said it is taking all diplomatic steps to help get the European Union ban on four Indian vegetables lifted and is taking up the issue at appropriate forums. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman said she had taken up the issue with EU officials and had also discussed with various European nations including the United Kingdom during her recent visit to London. "India is taking all diplomatic steps to address the issue of getting the EU ban lifted on some Indian vegetables.